This invention relates to a method and apparatus for packaging foodstuffs in the form of individually wrapped single slices and the foodstuff so wrapped.
In prior conventional methods for preparing food such as a sandwich in which meat slices such as ham, sausage and cheese are sandwiched between two pieces of bread, the cutting of the foodstuff into slices requires considerable skill or a complicated device and thus is time consuming or costly.
To avoid such problems, there has been proposed a method wherein several pieces of sliced foodstuff are laid on top of the other each individually wrapped with a plastic film. However, this method is not a complete solution to the problem, because once the wrapping film is broken, if some of the sliced food is left unused for a given period of time, then the remaining sliced food is likely to dry-solidify or deteriorate in quality, or, in the case of cheese, the slices become adhered to each other, broken or deformed.
Another method has been proposed which produces individually wrapped slices by extrusion of the foodstuff, into a wrapping film. However, this method has met with only partial success, because the opening of the nozzle, through which the food material is extruded, is a flat or narrow slit and, as a result, food materials of high viscosity tend to plug the nozzle. Also, conversion to a different thickness for the food slice requires replacement of the nozzle at the sacrifice of consuming considerable time. In addition, controlling of the weight of the individual slice is difficult with such equipment.
Another problem encountered in wrapping individual food slices is that when many slices are stacked, one on top of the other, breakage or cracking of the slices often occurs due to the bulges produced by overlapping end portions of the heat-sealed wrapping film. Bending of the slices when unwrapping also produces breakage. This is principally because the end portions of the wrapping film overlap near the center of each individual slice.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for wrapping foodstuffs as individual slices which method and apparatus do not require a complicated slicing device or the use of a nozzle having a narrow flat opening, and thereby avoid binding of the food material within the nozzle.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for wrapping foodstuffs in slice form, which method and apparatus provide an easy means to produce such a slice-form foodstuff in various thicknesses without replacing the nozzle.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide wrapped foodstuffs in slice form which are unlikely to break or crack when stacked or unwrapped.